Regulating AI: Where U.S. State Policy and HCI (Mis)align
2026-07-03 • Human-Computer Interaction
Human-Computer Interaction
AI summaryⓘ
The authors studied reports from 18 U.S. state AI committees that look at the pros and cons of AI in society. They compared what these committees worry about to a list of known AI risks from research and found some important issues were missing. Specifically, while the committees talk about responsible AI, they often overlook social and technical challenges highlighted by human-computer interaction (HCI) experts. The authors suggest HCI can help by including more social perspectives and involving people in design to better connect research with policymaking.
Artificial IntelligenceAI PolicyState-level CommitteesAI RisksResponsible AIHuman-Computer InteractionSocio-Technical SystemsParticipatory DesignPolicy AnalysisTechnology Governance
Authors
Nino Migineishvili, Alice Gao, Adinawa Adjagbodjou, Dhanaraj Thakur, René Just, Katharina Reinecke
Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are increasingly adopted into everyday life, with most investment and development concentrated in the U.S. In response to rapid AI integration and scant federal guidelines, U.S. states have formed AI committees charged with studying AI-related societal trade-offs. We analyzed the 18 existing state-level AI committee reports to understand how policymakers discuss AI-related benefits and risks. We then compared the risks surfaced by policymakers to an established taxonomy of AI risks aggregated from literature and examined how policymakers' concerns align, or misalign, from those of HCI scholars. These insights provide important mileposts for shaping currently ongoing policy initiatives and future research. Our findings reveal important gaps: while committees invoke responsible AI, their framings often omit broader socio-technical concerns emphasized in HCI. We discuss opportunities for HCI to support socio-technical perspectives, employ participatory design, and close the gap between research and policy.